Online social media has brought the digitization of our lives to new heights in just a few short years with the explosion of tools like Facebook and the adoption of Internet-ready smart-phones. But all of this information sharing comes at a price: privacy. UC Santa Barbara Computer Science Professor Dr. Ben Zhao joined us to discuss the privacy implications in the wide world of Web 2.0.  Listen to the podcast.

Worldwide, 12 million people suffer from autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease or ADPKD. In the U.S. the number is larger than those affected by Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and sickle cell anemia combined. UC Santa Barbara’s Dr. Thomas Weimbs, associate professor and director of the Weimbs Lab joined Levi and Tim this morning to discuss his team’s latest findings which could lead to one of the first drug treatments for a disease which currently can only be treated through dialysis and transplant.  Listen to the podcast.

After returning from a tour of the Pacific Rim with the Beach Boys, Christian Love, Randell Kirsch and Ed Prado delight the KCSB morning audience with an acoustic set from Studio A. The group shares stories from the road, their influences and the latest on the progress with the band’s new album. Listen to the podcast for special live music and the interview. Visit myspace.com/5alarm for show dates.

The January 12th earthquake in Haiti devastated 3 million people on the small island-nation. Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief International has helped bring tens of millions of dollars in medical aid to Haiti. The organization is one of the most efficient charities providing relief in the area. Jim Prosser, the media relations manager answered questions today on DRI’s relief efforts in the Caribbean and worldwide. Listen to the podcast.

A rainbow appeared for just a couple minutes over Santa Barbara today.

Dr. Jane Close Conoley, the dean of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School visited KCSB this morning to talk about the Harding University Partnership between UCSB and Santa Barbara School Districts. Dean Conoley shared the details of the deal which will bring needed support to the struggling neighborhood school using an International Baccalaureate model. Visit the podcast page for more info including audio of the interview.

Julia Nagy, the executive director of the Tri-Counties Division of the American Heart Association was in studio today with Tim and me on Intents & Purposes to talk about the organization’s 2010 Go Red For Women campaign along with the event’s chair Janet Garufis, president and CEO of Montecito Bank and Trust. The Heart Association will host a fundraising Women’s Health Expo on March 5, 2010 at Fess Parker’s Double Tree Resort. We discussed building healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke and simple ways to make big healthy changes.  Check out this week’s podcast page.

Levi and Tim speak with the director of UCSB’s Meso American Research Center and the recipient of the 2000 Rolex Award for Enterprise, Dr. Anabel Ford. She has dedicated years to the study of the ancient city of El Pilar. This historic Maya community sits on the border of Guatemala and Belize. Dr. Ford contests, contrary to many of her colleagues, that El Pilar is a model of the sustainable practice of “forest gardening.” She and her team have worked diligently to study, understand and preserve this early gem. Check out this week’s podcast page.

This one from the This-Guy-Could-Be-Him file:

The FBI recently used a photograph of Spanish politician Gaspar Llamazares as an example of what Osama Bin Laden might look like today.

According to Reuters, FBI special agent Jason Pack said a forensic artist had been unable to find suitable features from the FBI’s database of photographs and used a picture from the Internet instead. That photo turned out to be one of Llamazares who apparently looks strikingly similar to what the FBI thinks Bin Laden would look like with a few extra years on him.

“I am stupefied the FBI has used my photo — but it could have been anyone’s — to compose a picture of a terrorist. It affects my honor, my own image and also the security of all us,” LLamazares said in a statement.